Addressing the media in Manila, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says that “By and large, we think that a nuclear-armed Iran is an unacceptable thing. It can’t happen.”

He added that if it were allowed to happen, “within two years”, Iran could threaten to overwhelm the US with “tens of thousands” of drones and missiles that “they were on pace to build — they can’t do that now”.

He also said that the US will not accept Iran’s attempts to “control” global shipping.